The CFR Cluj football club beat Slavia Prague in the 4th round of the UEFA Europa Conference League on October 13. The next day, a stream of racist hate speech was let loose on social media.
On Thursday evening, October 13, CFR Cluj beat Slavia Prague 2-0 in the 4th round of the Europa Conference League in Cluj Napoca after also winning 1-0 in the Czech capital a week before, reports the Főtér.
However, the following day, conflicts emerged on social media, and racist hate speech spread among both teams’ fans.
“You are just a bunch of Jews, Slavia” was written in large letters on a banner that CFR fans held up and showed to visiting supporters from the Czech Republic.
In response, “Gypsies! Gypsies!” was chanted by supporters of Slavia Prague.
According to sports news portal Gsp.ro, the mutual hatred between fans of the two teams can be traced back to a match in 2019, when Slavia and CFR clashed in the Champions League qualifiers; some supporters of the Prague team acquired some of the burgundy and white flags of Cluj-Napoca, which were waved to the fans last week at the match between the two teams in Prague. “And there is no greater humiliation among football fans than the theft of flags,” the portal reports.
The case will likely become a major scandal, as UEFA has a strict policy against racist remarks at matches.